Buoying vessels over shoals



NNER 0F BOUYING VESSELS STATES PATENT FFIGE ABRAHAM LINCULN, UFSPRINGFIELD, ILLINUIS.

BUYING `VESSELS @VER SHOALS.

Specification forming part vof Letters Patent No. 6,469, dated May 22,1849; application filed March 10, 1849.

to enable them to pass over bars, or through` shallow water, withoutdischarging their car goes; and I do herebydeclare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings making a part of this specification. Similarletters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The buoyant chambers A, A, which I employ, are constructer` in such amanner that they can be expanded so as to held a large volume of airwhen required for use, and can be contracted, into a very small spaceand safely secured as soon as their services can be dispensed with.

Fig. 1, is a side elevation of a vessel with the buoyant chamberscombined therewith, expanded;

Fig. 2, is a transverse section of the same with the buoyant chamberscontracted.

Fig. 3, is a longitudinal vertical section through the centre of one ofthe buoyant chambers, and the box B, for receiving it when contracted,which is secured to the lower guard of the vessel.

The top g, and bottom h, of each buoyant chamber, is composed of plankor metal, of suitable strength and stidness, and thelexible sides andends of the chambers, are composed of india-rubber cloth, or othersuitable water-proof fabric, securely united to the edges `fnd ends ofthe top and bottom of the charners.

The sides of the chambers may be stayed and supported centrally by aframe k, as shown in Fig. 3, or as many stays may be combined with themas may be necessary to give them the requisite fullness and strengthwhen expanded.

The buoyant chambers are suspended and operated as follows: A suitablenumber of vertical shafts or spars D, D, lare combined with each of thechambers, as represented in Figs. 2 and 3, to wit: The shafts workfreely in apertures formed in the upper sides of the chambers, and theirlower ends are permanently secured to the under sides of the chambers:The vertical shafts or spars (D,D,) pass up through the top of the boxesB, B, on the lower guards of the vessel, and then through its upperlguards, or some other suitable support, to keep them in a verticalposition.

The vertical shafts (D, D,) are connected to the main shaft C,whichpasses longitudinally through the centre of the vessel-just below itsupper deck-by endless ropes f, j, as represented in Fig. 2: The saidropes, j, f, being wound several times around the main shaft C, thenpassing outwards over sheaves or rollers attached to the upper deck orguards of the vessel, from which they descend along the inner sides ofthe vertical shafts or spars D, D, to sheaves or rollers connected tothe boxes B, B, and thence rise to the main shaft (C,) again.

The ropes f, f, are connected to the vertical shafts at z', z', as shownin Figs. 1 and 2. It will therefore be perceived, that by turning themain shaft C, in one direction, the buoyant chambers will be expandedinto the position shown in Fig. l; and by turning the shaft in anopposite direction, the chambers will be contracted into the positionshown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3, e, e, are check ropes, made fastl to thetops of the boxes B,B, and to the upper sides of the buoyant chambers; which ropes catch andretain the upper sides of the chambers when their lower sides are forceddown, and cause the chambers to be expanded to their full capacity. Byvarying the length of the check ropes, the depth of immersion of thebuoyant chambers can be governed. A suitable number of openings m, m,are formed in the upper sides of the buoyant chambers, for the admissionand emission of air when the chambers are expanded and contracted.

The ropes f, f, that connect the main shaft C, with the shafts or sparsD, D, (rislng from the buoyant chambers, if it should be foundexpedient.

I shall generally make the mam shaft C, 1n as man parts as there arecorresponding pairs o buoyant chambers, so that by coupe ling thesections of the shaft together, the whole of the chambers can beexpanded at the same time, and by disconnecting them, either pair ofchalnbers can be expanded, separately from the others as circumstancesmay require.

The buoyant chambers may be operated by the power ofthe steam engineapplied to the main shaft C` in any convenient manner, or by man power.

Where the guards of a vessel are very high above the water, the boxes B`B, for the recept-ion of the buoyant chambers when contracted, may bedispensed with, and the chambers be contracted by drawing them againstthe under side of the guards. Or, protecting cases may be secured to theunder sides of the guards for the reception of the buoyant chambers whencontracted.

lVhen it is desired to combine my expansible buoyant chambers withvessels which have. no projecting guards; shelves or cases must bestrongly secured to their sides for the reception of the buoyantchambers.

I wish it to be distinctly understood, that I do not'intend to limitmyself to any articular mechanical arrangement, in com ining expansiblebuoyant chambers with a vessel, but shall vary the same' as I may deemexpedient, whilst I yattain the same end by substantially the samemeans.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by letters patent, isthelcombination of expansible buoyant chambers placed at the sides of avessel, with the main shaft or shafts C, by means of the sliding sparsor shafts D, which pass downlthrough the buoyant chambers and are madefast to their bottoms, and the series of ropes and pullies, or theirequivalents, in such a manner that by turning the main shaft or shaftsin one direction, the buoyant chambers will be forced downwards into theWater `and at the same time expanded and filled with air for buoying upthe vessel by the displacement of water; and by turning the shaft in anopposite direction, the buoyant chambers will be contracted into a smallspace and secured against injury.

A. LINCOLN. litnessz Z. C. ROBBINS, H. H. SYLvEsTER.

